40 Life and Letters of Francis Gallon 



.54,000 to John, Robert and Samuel Galton to which I have already 

 referred. His wife Hannah Galton (Farmer) died in 1767 at Bristol 

 and was buried in the Quakers' Ground at Redclif. The youngest 

 brother, Samuel Galton, born in 1720, also started life in Bristol 1 , 

 where he paid for his freedom in 1742. In 1743 his stock, he tells us, 

 was worth .1144. In 1746 be married Mary Farmer, the daughter 

 of Joseph Farmer of Birmingham, and thus cousin of Hannah, his 

 brother Robert's wife. He received ,1600 as marriage portion, and 

 definitely becomes assistant to his brother-in-law, James Farmer. 

 This probably took Samuel to Birmingham where his brother John 

 was already established at Duddeston. In the next year, 1747, he is 

 admitted partner with James Farmer for a quarter of his stock for 

 2500. In 1753 he is equal partner with Farmer. James Farmer's 

 cousin Benjamin Farmer, son of Thomas, was a merchant in Lisbon, and 

 James had very large ventures there in 1755. The earthquake of that 

 year appears to have involved the Farmers in great losses, and James 

 Farmer was bankrupt in this year. The partnership was dissolved 

 and the estates at Duddeston, Saltley, etc. were assigned to Galton. 

 Samuel Galton renewed the partnership with Farmer in 1757, and from 

 an agreement of 1766 the shares of James Farmer and Samuel Galton 

 are placed respectively at 13,862 and 22,281. Meanwhile by the 

 death of his mother, Sarah Button, in 1754, an estate had accrued to 

 Samuel at Taunton. By the death of his brother John in 1775, 

 several other estates in Somerset Edgmead, High Ham, Allermoor, 

 Bridgwater were inherited by Samuel 2 . This brother John had 

 married Hannah Alloway and settled at Duddeston on the outskirts 

 of Birmingham as it then was. He, however, had no children, and 

 his property passed to his brother. When Samuel Galton died in 

 1799 aged 80, the Galton business held in equal partnership by him- 

 self and his son Samuel was valued at 139,000. 



We have gone into these details as they are illustrative of the 

 Quaker stubbornness turned to successful commercial achievement. 



1 The connection with Bristol was kept up, for Samuel's sister Mary died there in 

 1789 and his daughter Hannah in 1773. 



2 In 1776 Samuel Galton states in his memoranda that he sold the estate at "Beer 

 Hill." This proves that the Thomas Galton of Beere who appears in the Registers of 

 Winterbourne-Kingston in 1617, and who was probably the Thomas baptized Jan. 7, 1 580, 

 was an ascendant or relative of the John Galton of Yatton. 



